BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ: Some of My All-Time Favorites

I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for awhile now, & this morning I figured there’s no time like the present.

It’s a rare occasion that I find a book I’m dying to read cover-to-cover, as much as I wish that weren’t true. Usually, I’ll start a book, get distracted, & never return to reading it.

I will say that downloading audiobooks via the Audible app has helped, because I can walk around and do things while I’m “reading.” I’ve finished a few books that way lately, though I can’t say it’s the most efficient way for me to process the information, because I’m a visual learner. If you’re an auditory learner, on the other hand, I definitely recommend it.

When I’m reading a good book, I like to sit down ( usually outside, with a cup of coffee/tea ), pen in-hand ( to underline quotes that stick out to me ) & casually comb through the pages. There’s something about having the physical book in my hands that I really like.

Today, I’m sharing a few of my favorite-of-all-time books ( there are more, but I didn’t want this post to be too long ), which include non-fiction books, novels, & poetry.

Relentless by Tim Grover
Time Grover trained superstars like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, & Dwayne Wade. In his book ‘Relentless,’ he details the types of people who make it to the top of their game, applying their mindsets to professions outside of basketball. This book absolutely changed my life, making me look realistically at what life is like when you want to be the absolute best at what you do, maximizing your skills & time, and truly committing to your cause, whatever it may be.

“I don’t care how good you think you are, or how great others think you are—you can improve, and you will. Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you, knowing that every time you stop, you can still do more. You must do more. The minute your mind thinks, “Done,” your instincts say, “Next.” —Tim Grover

“ou make decisions, not suggestions; you know the answer while everyone else is still asking questions.” —Tim Grover

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
This is one of the books I feel I need to re-read frequently. This book taught me A LOT about moving forward, through whatever shit you have to move through, to get you where you want to go. Mark Manson’s not-giving-a-fuck attitude sounds cynical, but it’s totally not. It’s an incredible way to live your life, sifting through things you shouldn’t care about to get to what’s important. DEFINITELY read this book. 1000000%.

“Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience. Any attempt to escape the negative, to avoid it or quash it or silence it, only backfires. The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering. The avoidance of struggle is a struggle. The denial of failure is a failure. Hiding what is shameful is itself a form of shame.
Pain is an inextricable thread in the fabric of life, and to tear it out is not only impossible, but destructive: attempting to tear it out unravels everything else with it. To try to avoid pain is to give too many fucks about pain. In contrast, if you’re able to not give a fuck about the pain, you become unstoppable.” — Mark Manson

“Our crisis is no longer material; it’s existential, it’s spiritual. We have so much fucking stuff and so many opportunities that we don’t even know what to give a fuck about anymore.” — Mark Manson

“If you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else.” —Paul Arden

“Be your own worst critic. When things go wrong it’s tempting to shift the blame. Don’t.
Accept responsibility. People will appreciate it, and you will find out what you’re capable of.” —Paul Arden

Originals by Adam Grant
Originals is all about the road to success, & how to forge a path of your own. In this book, Adam Grant talks about a number of successful companies who may have not been first movers in their fields, but they created a product/service that people couldn’t get enough of by refining what already existed. It’s a super interesting perspective if you’re into building a business or brand of your own, and I felt it was addicting to read.

“Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.” —Adam Grant

“Argue like you’re right and listen like you’re wrong.” —Adam Grant

“Being original doesn’t require being first. It just means being different and better.” —Adam Grant

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
I almost forgot to add this book to this list, but OMG. This is a novel that absolutely got to me in a very unique way. It’s a little wild, but it has SO much to say about people & the way humanity works. This may just be my all-time favorite fiction novel, and I recommend it to any & everyone. It’s a full of talk about beauty, fear, & death. All of my favorite things to talk about, ya know? Chuck Palahniuk is one of my top favorites. I wish I could write out this entire book in the quotes below, but I’ll save the story for y’all to read yourselves.

“The one you love and the one who loves you are never, ever the same person.” — Chuck Palahniuk

“Don’t do what you want. Do what you don’t want. Do what you’re trained not to want. Do the things that scare you the most.” — Chuck Palahniuk

“Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish.” — Chuck Palahniuk

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
The Secret is all about the Law of Attraction, a powerful force to be used if you understand it properly. I 100% believe in the law of attraction, and this book draws it out in detail, and tells you how to use it to your benefit. This is one of those books containing quotes that I need plastered all over my home to remind me to set intentions/manifest positive happenings in my life. It’s all about taking responsibility for the world you create for yourself.

“See the things that you want as already yours.” —Rhonda Byrne

“Don’t become mesmerize by the pictures that have appeared if they are not what you want. Take responsibility for them, make light of them if you can, and let them go. Then think new thoughts of what you want, feel them, and be grateful that it is done.” —Rhonda Byrne

Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
I’m adding it in because I’m obsessed with modern american literature ( & this book does it right ). It’s sarcastic, funny, dark, & details the futility of life & love ( fun, right? ). LOL– but really, this is the type of fiction I like to read, filled with inadvertent messages about humanity as a whole. It’s just so real.

“I am what I am. To look for ‘reasons’ is beside the point.” —Joan Didion

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers is a SUPER interesting book detailing the backgrounds of the highly successful (think: Bill Gates) and the way the world kind of came together for them. Essentially, these people had the right skills at the right time and further had the opportunity to apply those skills to their profession. It’s a incredibly interesting view on success, and I think it’s something everyone should be aware of.

“I want to convince you that these kinds of personal explanations of success don’t work. People don’t rise from nothing….It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t.” —Malcolm Gladwell

“No one— not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses— ever makes it alone.” —Malcolm Gladwell

Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut
Woah, flashbacks to high school English, I know. This book, along with the way it was read/taught in my English class ( at my BOMB ass school that I miss so much ), absolutely changed my life. It was the first event in a series of events that completely changed my world view at 17 years old. If you didn’t actually read this book in school, you must. Basically: Kurt Vonnegut explains the futility of mostly everything, which has always brought me so much comfort. He goes on about humanity, and war, and pain, and life. It’s amazing.

“That’s one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times and concentrate on the good ones.” —Kurt Vonnegut

“I have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone.” —Kurt Vonnegut ( I feel u, Kurt, LOL ).

Essential Bukowski Poetry
Bukowski is dark, real, & highly inappropriate. In fact, he’s the opening reference in the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. The guy is sarcastic, straight-forward, and writes BEAUTIFUL words. He’s forever one of my favorites. I also have a number of quotes from him on my Pinterest quote board.

“Some people never go crazy. What horrible lives they must lead.” —Charles Bukowski

“Nobody can save you but yourself — and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won but if anything is worth winning — this is it.” —Charles Bukowski

“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside— remember all the times you’ve felt that way.” —Charles Bukowski

Love Her Wild by Atticus
Atticus is a modern poet I fell in love with via Pinterest/Tumblr, who I now follow on Instagram as well. I bought this book from Urban Outfitters ( as part of my UO living room refresh ), & I read it one night in about 20-30 minutes. His poems are BEAUTIFUL, & you should definitely pick this up if you’re into poetry.

“I loved her most, for all the things she hated about herself, for that is what made her different, and it was the different that I loved.” — Atticus

“Watch carefully the magic that occurs when you give a person enough comfort just to be themselves.” — Atticus

“Find something that makes your forget to eat and sleep and drink and then do it until you die of thirst.” — Atticus

Broken Flowers by RM Drake
Another poet I fell in love with via social media ( the way we view/receive art is crazy now, right? ). Robert M. Drake has a number of books, but I picked this one up from the bookstore recently, and read it front-to-back in one sitting. I love his words.

“Wild girl with wild hair, I see you and I know what you are up to. You want the world and everything in it and there is nothing, anyone could do to stop you. Just remember, a tames woman will never leave her mark on the world. Stay wild.” — R.M. Drake

“Do not become like other people. People are full of shit and they are mostly wrong. Trust yourself only you know how to fill your lungs with breath. Only you know who you are.” — R.M. Drake

Welp, those are some of my favorite-of-all-time books. There are a few in this roundup that truly shifted my world view, and I couldn’t be more grateful to those authors for that experience.

This post is reminding me that I need to re-read a number of these books again.

Oh, & all the books I linked are available on Amazon PRIME & a number of them are available for Audible ( though I recommend reading the novels the old-school way. )

What are y’alls’ favorite books??? Help! I’m into non-fiction books about business/success, modern american literature, & poetry, obviously! Lemme know.